Statkraft and Södra have signed a letter of intent to create a company with the aim of establishing production of biofuel based on forest raw material in the future. The agreement means that Statkraft will acquire the company Södra Cell Tofte AS, which owns the industrial site of the former Tofte cellulose plant in Hurum, Norway.
Biofuel plays an important part in the drive to achieve national and international targets for reducing climate emissions from the transportation sector. It is predicted that authorities will provide incentives to stimulate an increased mix of sustainable biofuel in oil-based fuels.
"Statkraft views biofuel as an interesting area in renewable energy. I believe that the collaboration with Södra will be a solid basis for development of the project," says Statkraft CEO, Christian Rynning-Tønnesen.
"Södra is monitoring with great interest the technology developments and the business opportunities presented by the use of forest raw materials for industrial production of climate-neutral fuels. We have also enjoyed good collaboration with Statkraft in the past and look forward to joining the two companies' expertise and experience in this project," says Södra's CEO Lars Idermark.
Sodra Cell's Tofte mill in Norway ceased production in August 2013. The mill had an annual production capacity of 400,000 tonnes of chemical pulp.
